It’s hard to believe that Jackie Chan—who has won the world over with his unique approach to filmmaking—has never been the subject of a book. While this book can’t possibly cover every aspect of his cinematic life, I hope that readers will come away appreciating Jackie Chan more. Here is an introduction to what his films are about, who he has worked with, and how his films are made. Chan’s career and life are multi-faceted, so, rather than approaching Chan’s story simply chronologically, I have given each facet—each theme—its own chapter. To make this book as comprehensive as possible, I briefly discuss many of his martial arts and filmmaking techniques since both of these aspects have attracted fans who may not be Hong Kong film fans by nature.
All of the films discussed are the original, full-length Chinese versions. Where it is necessary, I mention other versions, but the originally released films are the ones I base my discussions on. Many of the English versions floating around are not complete and the dubbing often changes the meaning of what was actually said in the film.
I have also included the Chinese characters for the names Chan and many of the people he has worked with in the past with an explanation of how understanding these names will help in your quest for Chan’s films (and others discussed here) in Chinese video stores.
Everything in this book is based on many interviews conducted with Jackie Chan and the people who know him best. I hope this book answers many of your questions and leads to other books written on the man of the hour.